What did Nell say about Mary Listen here !

Sand

Seemed a pretty bitter and spiteful thing to try and spread rumours like that. I feel sorry for Nell tbh if thats her level.

I am always bemused by the hatred Harney draws down upon her. Theres not a single political figure out there who can evoke so much over the top bile and vileness from people who on the surface seem relatively normal.

Perhaps they seriously believe Harney should be signing off on every single little procedure? Should she be running all the phones? Driving all the ambulances?

Management failures are just that, management failures. Harneys role is to introduce and implement policy, not to manage every little thing.

The staff in question in the hospital who were responsible for ensuring controls and procedures around the particular scans are the ones who should be facing the sack, but given they are public sector employees, sacking them is next to impossible.

So, the likes of Nell, unable to do anything useful engage in some bitter rumourmongering. That someone like Nell McCafferty is supposed to be some sort of public figure with licence to comment on issues of the day shows how poor we are in that regard.

DrunkenMinister

It's more than management failures - many of the individual departments were working fine - not all of them, fair enough.
But the removal of resources was planned & orcehstrated in such a way as to disable the Service.
If the workload in such an inportant area was excessive for the staff involved, why was the situation not remedied ?
New consultants are to have clauses written into their contracts barring them from speaking to the media in a negative light about Harney/her successor or the HSE. What does that tell you ?

The undeniable truth of the situation is that Harney, and her predecessor Cowen, engineered a climate of fear of & distrust in the public Health service to push people into private care.
And - in this, at the very least, Nell was telling the truth - they've blood on their hands.

anymore

Page 24 of the Ir Indo is reporting that MZ Harney has begun libel action in the High Court against a national radio station.

mike65

Dunno but she is in court

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/harney-begins--libel-case-over--radio-claims-2101254.html

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney has begun libel action in the High Court against a national radio station.

The defamation case centres on claims made by journalist Nell McCafferty during an interview on Newstalk last week.

A spokesman for Ms Harney last night confirmed she had commenced the libel action.

The station has issued two apologies to the minister since last Thursday's broadcast, saying the comments were "untrue and were known to be without truth when they were broadcast".

"The interview should never have been broadcast and the fact that these allegations were made represents an abject failure on the part of Newstalk to meet basic standards of common decency," Newstalk said in a statement last week.

"Newstalk apologises without reservation to Mary Harney. Newstalk deeply regrets the fact that these allegations were made and accepts that these untruthful statements were deeply hurtful to Mary Harney and her family."

edit - Oops a bit late

Poly

"HEALTH Minister Mary Harney has begun libel action in the High Court against a national radio station."

but if it goes to court, will the defence solicitors not have to examine if there is any truth in Nell's rant?

This will only lead to more public speculation.

jennyjest

I suppose we can assume the X ray for her hand was read fairly promptly !
I wonder if she went to A & E ?

OhNoYouDidn't

Poly wrote: »

"HEALTH Minister Mary Harney has begun libel action in the High Court against a national radio station."

but if it goes to court, will the defence solicitors not have to examine if there is any truth in Nell's rant?

This will only lead to more public speculation.

That reason is why I don't think the case will get near court. Can you imagine a minister being grilled in the dock about her social habits?